Raw sugar falls, arabicas edge up, near one-year low
Cocoa dipped on chart-based selling in light volumes.
ICE raw sugar futures eased, weighed down by the fall in oil prices after another big weekly build in U.S. crude inventories.
Cheap oil erodes the competitiveness of sugar cane-based ethanol biofuel.
Dealers also highlighted the possibility that India could launch raw sugar export incentives to aid cash-starved mills.
"The Indian mills have large stocks, they have a lot of debt, and they need the cash," one London-based broker said.
Dealers said the return of Brazilian producers to the market after Carnival, boosted producer selling pressure.
A weak real boosts the local currency returns to Brazilian millers from dollar-denominated sugar sales.
"The real/dollar has been stable at around 2.83 since Carnival but is still expected to test support above 2.88 which continues to cap values in futures," said Nick Penney, a senior trader with Sucden Financial Sugar.
ICE March raw sugar futures traded down 0.27 cent, or 1.8 percent, at 14.82 cents a lb at 1238 GMT.
May white sugar was down \\$5.70, or 1.4 percent, at \\$389.30 per tonne.
Arabica coffee futures on ICE recovered on chart-based buying from a one-year low touched on Wednesday.
"Forecasts of rainfall in Brazil continue to be the main factor weighing on prices," another London-based broker said.
ICE May arabica coffee futures traded up 0.45 cents, or 0.3 percent, at \\$1.5740 per lb, close to Wednesday's low of \\$1.5625.
May robusta coffee futures traded down \\$5, or 0.3 percent, at \\$2,004 per tonne.
New York cocoa corrected down from Wednesday's five-week high in light dealings.
Cocoa was supported by low purchases in the world's second biggest grower, Ghana.
ICE May cocoa futures traded down \\$17, or 0.6 percent, at \\$2,956 per tonne.
London May cocoa was off 9 pounds, or 0.5 percent, at 1,994 pounds per tonne.
Комментарии